The Faribault Business Academy is an innovative program that engages high school students with real business applications and networking opportunities. The Business Academy is offered within the Faribault High School Business Department, which offers twelve courses taught by Mr. Kegler and Mr. Dunnigan.

This program is perfect for students interested in developing their professional skills and preparing for their future!

Business Department News

District 1 DECA Judges and Volunteers Needed January 11, 2019

On Friday, January 11, Faribault DECA will be competing in the District 1 DECA Competition at Christian Family Church and World Outreach Center in Owatonna, MN. District 1 is composed of students from Faribault, Owatonna, Mankato East, Mankato West, Northfield, Austin, Pine Island, Waseca, and Sibley East. Students placing at the top of their events qualify to compete in the state competition. Interested parties should follow the google link to judge or volunteer.

On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, 40 business students attended the Minnesota Business Club Day at Target Center to learn about careers in the sports and entertainment industry. Students listened to speakers, had small group forums, and received a ticket to an upcoming Timberwolves game. Speakers included a Minnesota Lynx player, marketing experts, membership directors, and the radio play by play broadcaster amongst others.

Eleven DECA Members Compete at DECA ICDC in Atlanta

Faribault DECA brought 11 members to the 2018 ICDC conference in Atlanta, GA. The Virtual Business team of Alex Korbel, Emma Winkelman, and Claire Drentlaw finished 13th in the world. Other members attending the conference were Matt Buker, Madi Isaacson, Ally McCoshen, Camryn Salmonsen, Ben Malmanger, Sam Graves, Madelyn Wehe, and Erica Johnsrud. Outside of the conference students were able to see a Braves game, visit the World of Coke and Georgia Aquarium, and attend an Andy Grammer concert at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Visit our Instagram page for pictures.

Faribault DECA Wins Awards at State Competition

Faribault DECA competed at the 2018 Minnesota State Career Development Conference in Minneapolis from March 4-March 6. Here is a list of the state award winners.

Faribault DECA members competed in the District 1 competition on Friday, January 12, 2018. Faribault came home with 34 medals, including 12 gold medals and qualified over 30 students for the Minnesota State Career Development Conference held in Minneapolis in early March. Read more in the Faribault Daily News.

On October 28-29, 2018, 42 members of the Faribault High School DECA program attended the annual Fall Leadership Conference. During the two day event students listened to motivational speakers and attended workshop sessions. The workshops consisted of career advice such as making positive first impressions and dressing professionally. Career speakers in the areas of entrepreneurship, hospitality, and marketing from the Minnesota Vikings, and several major companies among the featured lineup. Members also attended sessions geared toward competition success in DECA such as acing the marketing cluster exam, presenting a written paper, how to interview, and how to thrive doing a role-play event.

Thomas Qualifies for ICDC in Virtual Business

Senior Brett Thomas finished as the Minnesota State Champion and Central Region Runner-Up in the Virtual Business Challenge Restaurant simulation that ended on November 2, 2019. To read more about Brett follow the link.

On Thursday, May 24th, twenty students from the DECA program, Intro to Business class, and AP MicroEconomics class attended the Valleyfair Marketing Day. The students had the opportunity to watch a visual presentation about careers in the areas of marketing and social media. Students were able to participate in a question and answer session with four of Valleyfair's marketing executives. Park prizes were awarded for asking or answering questions.

Business Students Compete at 2018 State Personal Finance Decathlon

On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, business students Matt Buker, Sam Graves, and Ben Malmanger competed in the Minnesota State Personal Finance Challenge Decathlon. The students took a personal finance test and scored among the top 12 schools in the state earning them the invitation to compete at state. The Decathlon was hosted by the Minnesota Council on Economic Education and was held at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. Although Faribault did not advance to the final four, the guys were awarded the name challenge winner with the name of "Kicking Assets and Taking Capital Gains."

Faribault DECA Receives Thrive Award in Chapter Campaigns

On Wednesday, January 9, 2018, multiple students in the DECA program received the news they had been hopeful for. Faribault's Membership Campaign, Global Entrepreneurship Campaign, and Promotional Campaign were all graded as Thrive, the highest level of achievement recognition National DECA hands out on chapter campaigns. By receiving Thrive in all of the campaigns means Faribault DECA can bring up to six student allocations to the Thrive Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA this spring.

The Membership Campaign consists of meeting an increase of 20 or more new members in 2 or 3 following categories: student, alumni, and professional. Madelyn Wehe and Erica Johnsrud took the lead on this campaign.

The Global Entrepreneurship and Promotional Campaigns were led by Camryn Salmonsen, Ally McCoshen, and Madi Isaacson. Among the activities they led were presenting to the Faribault Foundation, the Faribault School Board, and the Kiwani's Club. They also had to interview successful Faribault DECA alumni and successful entrepreneurs in the community as well as lead student promotions for both DECA and entrepreneurship.

DECA Members Qualify for National Competition in Virtual Business Challenge

On November 3, 2017, Team A.C.E., led by team captain, Alex Korbel, finished as the Central Region Runner-Up in the 1st Round of the 2017-2018 Virtual Business Challenge. The restaurant challenge has students run a virtual restaurant for a period of five fiscal years. Teams had 10 days to create the largest overall profit by making changes to the menu, seating arrangement, staffing, purchasing, marketing and other items common to running a restaurant. The DECA Central Region consists of teams from 13 states. By finishing in 2nd place out of nearly 100 teams Team A.C.E. will next represent Faribault DECA at the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, GA in April of 2018.